Isham G. Harris Telegram
Isham G. Harris sent this telegram to Major General Gideon J. Pillow on July 2, 1861 (the day that Tennessee was formally admitted into the Confederacy). In it, he discusses transferring Tennessee troops into the Confederate Army.
Dates
- 1861 July 2
Conditions Governing Access
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Conditions Governing Use
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Extent
0.1 Linear Feet
Abstract
Isham G. Harris sent this telegram to Major General Gideon J. Pillow on July 2, 1861 (the day that Tennessee was formally admitted into the Confederacy). In it, he discusses transferring Tennessee troops into the Confederate Army.
Biographical/Historical Note
Isham Green Harris was born to Isham Green and Lucy (Davidson) Harris near Tullahoma, Tennessee on February 10, 1818. He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1841 and married Martha Travis, with whom he had eight children, in 1843. He was elected to the Tennessee State Senate in 1847 and served for a single term before being elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1849. Harris stepped down in 1853 and settled in Memphis to practice law. He did not, however, remain a private citizen for long: he was elected Governor of Tennessee in 1857 and re-elected in 1859 and 1861. During his final term, Harris committed Tennessee to the Confederate cause and went on to serve in the Confederate Army from 1862 until 1865. When the war ended, he fled to Mexico and then to England before finally returning to Memphis and resuming his legal practice. He returned to politics in 1877 when he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served until he died on July 8, 1897.
Arrangement
This collection consists of a single folder.
Acquisition Note
This collection is property of the University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository